367th Fighter Group newsletter – Issue # 14 - DECEMBER 2016 Table of contents 1 – The advanced landing grounds in Normandy, part 2 2 – Briefing in Normandy 3 – Honoring the pilots, part 7 4 – Christmas 1944 4 – Books and URL Dear Friends and 367th Fighter Group members, The first article is the end of the article on the advanced landing grounds in Normandy I started in newsletter # 13. This article has additional pictures I wanted to share with you. We are lucky that a reporter of Life spent a few days with the outfit in A-2 Cricqueville but also that Lt. Ken Jorgensen took pictures in kodachrome. We will see that the reporter of Life took a few pictures of the same briefing in the middle of a cow pasture but with different angles. The « Honoring the pilots » article in this issue is not dedicated to a specific pilot. You will see that it is linked to the advanced landing grounds in Normandy. No idea for your Christmas menu? Let’s read the article ‘The Christmas 1944’. I wish you a good reading. Olivier Le Floch The advanced landing grounds in Normandy, part 2 Erny Snow, propeller specialist of the 394th FS described the arrival on the French soil in his memories: “We get ready to leave ship by way of landing craft, which we load into and it is lowered over the side. We went past a lot of large ships which had been sunk and now being used as a break water. Our boat landed at a pier and we unloaded onto French soil. The first man on it was Capt. Murdoch Young and I was second. Anyway none of us got shot at so it must have been safe. We got word to march up the hill, which didn’t look very steep but time we got to the top we were all pooped out. At top of hill I was out of wind and could hear the guy behind me huffing and puffing also. This was at Utah Beach. We were carrying full packs. We went past a bunch of German prisoners and they looked a hell of a lot happier than we did. We walked a mile or so and camped in a small orchard for the night. We pitched up tents, ate K rations and settled down for night. Area was full of foxholes and a lot of old shells laying around. And it rained. During the night we could hear guns firing in the distance, like the rumble of thunder and suddenly it seemed all hell had broke loose as the Ack, Ack near us started shooting. We all were scared as it was our first taste of war. O.J. Henry was up at latrine when the shooting started and he went running and jumping over foxholes and crawled into his pup tent to be safe. 1 367th Fighter Group newsletter – Issue # 14 - DECEMBER 2016 Lt. Ken Jorgensen ready for a mission from ALG 6 La Londe and his crew chief (Ken Jorgensen via Jean-Luc Gruson/archives 367th FG) Lt. Ken Jorgensen’s ground crew refueling the P-38 after a mission at ALG 6 La Londe (Ken Jorgensen via Jean-Luc Gruson/archives 367th FG) Next morning all was quiet and we ate K rations and waited to find out if we had to walk all over France or ride in trucks. Soon the trucks came and we were happy. We loaded up and were taken to our first field in France, strip A-6 near Sainte-Mere-Eglise. The paratroopers on D-day landed near this town. We pitched pup tents and dug foxholes. I did not have a partner to make a pup tent so just covered up with shelter half and sacked up, it started to rain so I cussed the weather and fell asleep. 2 367th Fighter Group newsletter – Issue # 14 - DECEMBER 2016 A few nights later we had the air raid, we heard shooting in distance but all of a sudden we heard a plane diving on field and all broke loose as the Ack Ack opened up plus small machine guns and some large ones. It looked like a 4th of July fireworks which had caught on fire and all shooting at once. We all dove into our foxholes and as I jumped into mine I could see everyone else doing the same, sort of funny now but at time was not a bit funny. When it settled down a bit I realized we had more danger of the falling flack hitting us than plane bullets, so next day we built covers over the foxholes. When the ground crews arrived a few days later and heard of our big air raid they dug holes very fast. The planes came in from England and our usual work began. Field is dirt and quite dusty. I found another shelter half and now had a pup tent all my own. On this field there is also a P-47 group and with our P-38s there is a lot of flying going on. Runway had a wire netting on ends and a lot of tires got punctured. …/… A party was given for the orphan children of Sainte Mere Eglise, the mayor spoke English and told of the paratrooper landings on D-day. Our planes are flying many missions and we are busy. Many French people come to see the planes and Sunday they turn out in droves. A few men get caught sitting on latrines as French people walk past them. In a small grain field near our tent area I saw a number of French women gleaning grain and it remained me of the famous painting ‘The gleaners’. There is a lot of cider, wine and cognac and some of the fellows are finding out they can’t handle the stuff”. Col. Young in a letter to his folks on August 12th 1944 describes the party given for the children of Sainte- mère-Eglise: “At noon our group did something unique. Fifty children from a nearby ‘liberated’ town, all of them without one or more of their parents due to the war, plus the mayor and his wife, and two old teacher maid school teachers, were our guests for chow. The men have been going without certain parts Men of the 367th FG with some children of Sainte-Mère-Eglise on August 13, 1944 (Ken Jorgensen via Jean-Luc Gruson/archives 367th FG) 3 367th Fighter Group newsletter – Issue # 14 - DECEMBER 2016 of their meals for several days for the occasion. Fifty soldiers sponsored the kids, fed them out of their own mess kits, and in general entertained them. After lunch we had entertainment. The mayor and his wife sat at special table with me. I introduced the mayor who gave the children a talk in French, followed by a description in English of how our paratroopers liberated his town on D minus one. Then a very lovely little orphan about ten presented me with a huge bouquet of flowers with a very poised speech in French which the mayor’s young son interpreted for me. That was followed by a French comedian who sang some songs and told some jokes all in French much to the amusement of the kids and hence the soldiers. Mr Renaud, mayor of Sainte-Mère-Eglise, and Col. Charles Young during the party organized by the 367th FG on August 13, 1944 (Ken Jorgensen via Jean-Luc Gruson/archives 367th FG) A French comedian doing the show during the party organized for the children of Sainte-Mère-Eglie (Ken Jorgensen via Jean-Luc Gruson/archives 367th FG) 4 367th Fighter Group newsletter – Issue # 14 - DECEMBER 2016 Ken Jorgensen and the little girl by the name of Ledic (Ken Jorgensen via Jean-Luc Gruson/archives 367th FG) Our own orchestra then played a few numbers, but about that time I was called away to fly a mission and had to leave in the middle of the celebrations. I have had nothing to impress me like those kids did. When that little girl gave me those flowers, with all the kids gathered around, I actually had a lump in my throat. And when we passed out candy to the kids – the men gave their weeks PX rations – it was a sight seldom to be seen. The kids were all clean and neat, though as a rule poorly dressed. One little girl had on a dress made from a parachute that was used in the liberation of her town. The kids were the best the best behaved kids I have ever seen, but of course they have spent four years doing just what they were told. Many of them had scabies, a type of skin rash caused by poor rations. All of them were on a holiday, and they had a wonderful time, making many a soldier happy that he had participated in the affair. The mayor’s wife had spent a year in England and spoke English fairly well. The mayor knew enough English to make up for what I couldn’t say in French. They were nicely dressed, though naturally their clothes showed lack of cleaning and pressing. They were charming people with three sons, all youngsters, and an air of living well that American can’t affect. For instance, the mayor Two of the children during the party organized by the 367th FG. sipped his coffee loud and clearly, something we don’t According to Ken Jorgensen, the boy whose first name was Pierre was the mess tent helper.